The 66th Hunger Games
by FightingToFly
Summary: "Welcome Meera to the sixty sixth Hunger Games, and may the odds be ever in your favor" The victor of the 66th hunger games was different from the others; small and young, demanding a different life and when the two she cares for more than anything die she is left with nothing but to crave a new a dream, something to let her live.
1. The Reaping

The TV flickered as the screen showed a pale rusty colour, the red hot desert glowing bright in the sun, each of the few trees dying in the heat with no water in sight. Caesar Flickerman appeared grinning, each tooth perfect white, his hair dyed a dark red with streaks of golden touching down across his cheeks and tainting his eyelids. "Well as you can see this is to be an interesting game, there is little water and already the sun I staking affect"

For a moment the scenery changed to the cornucopia, blinding in the sun. Each tribute stood, shakily, upon a metal ring; their hands shielding their eyes, some struggling to keep cool in the heat. For a moment the camera came up close to one tributes face. The boy from one, his face perfect and smooth, like all from his district, well fed with a strong jaw and bright eyes.

"He will win"

She turned to face him, his eyes still so big, so young. A nine year old should not be cheering on tributes and training to kill. "You don't know that Cato"

He turned to face her, this lips twisted into a sinister smirk with no childish playfulness left in it. "Because he is a killer"

Frowning she pointed at the girl on the far right of the screen, with long plaited blonde hair and copper wire bracelet in one hand. "Imagin's a killer as well, and she's from our district"

But Cato shook his head as the countdown ended and the tributes started to run, picking at the weapons and slashing at one another. Just children.  
"Nah, she cares too much for her district partner. He'll probably be the one to kill her"

Those same words ran through her head as Imagin's partner cut her down.

Those same words as the boy from district one was announced winner.

Those same words as her name was pulled from the reaping.

Those same words as her friend was chosen as her male partner.

She sat quietly in the waiting room, the voices outside belonging to her mother and father, her brother who was now determined she would join the line of victors.

The door opened and Cato ran in, stopping before reaching her and looking her up and down as if she held something dangerous like a knife. "Good luck, you're going to win" Shrugging she reached to hug him, but he seemed to hesitate before accepting.

"Maybe, but I'm not a killer. I've been trained like one, but I could never kill Troy, not my own district partner" Cato squeezed her slightly tighter and mumbled something she could not hear. Maybe this was a dream, maybe she would never have to kill or watch blood be shed before her eyes. It didn't feel real. And no matter how accurate his predictions had been before, she doubted she could muster the energy to push back emotions and win the games.

When all had said their goodbyes and she'd been swept away into a train she finally allowed herself to break, to cry, to wish for something else.

At some point along the ride her mentors pulled them both out to mention a few things about the games and how to gain the Capitols approval.

Then she returned to the darkness of her room, her dreams haunted by memories of a younger Cato smiling and playing games with a much simpler mean. Every time she would reach for him, asking for him never to change, to stay young and innocent. But every time he would turn his eyes were black and his lips moving in a sentence she could not hear. Until the end.

Only when she stood to far away she could barely make out his soft face and blonde hair did she hear his words loud and clear: "Welcome Meera to the sixty sixth hunger games, and may the odds be ever in your favour"

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**More chapters coming soon! Tell me what you think should happen next? :D**


	2. Opening Ceremony

Clenching her hands tight together to stop them from protectively covering her breasts, Meera watched silently as her prep team circled her; commenting on her body and for what could be changed and altered to give a better appearance. Finally after a rushed goodbye they hurried out the door and left her to sit quietly.

After a few moments a tall woman with tight lips and long silver eyelashes walked in, her high heels letting loud clicking sounds against the cement below.

"Hello dear, my names Celestia. I'm going to be dressing you for the opening ceremonies."

She looked up and for the first time Meera noticed the pale green vine tattooed across her cheek. "What will I wear?"  
Celestia smiled and pulled something from a bag by her feet. "We want to make an impression. And it's my job to make sure you do. Each year the outfits will improve, so next year will be better than this; but we aren't focusing on next- for now all we must do is show you off over the other tributes"

With a twist of her thin wrists she pulled out a short golden dress with grey crystals of metal to wrap around her bare legs and arms. The back was mostly tie up waist lined in what seems to be the tiny granite crystals and a head piece with stone wings. "Try it on"

Meera gasped, struggling to breathe as Celestia once again tightened the waist. The stood alone surrounded by the other tributes, all dressed to suit their district.

"How am I meant to walk in this? It's too tight"

Celestia smiled and gently touched her shoulder; "You're not meant to walk, you're meant to smile and wave"

Meera frowned and reached back to try loosen it, but Celestia just waved her away. "I won't be smiling if fainting over the carriage"

At that Celestia gave a short laugh before strutting over towards Enobaria, the female mentor for two, and engaging in some sort of quick uttered conversation.

Sighing she forced herself to move, walking up to her carriage and the two chestnut horses that stood by it. She pressed her hand against ones neck, feeling it breath and its body quiver under her touch. She wondered how it felt to live here, amongst so many colours and people who dressed to match the blood of slaughtered Children.

"Nice dress"

Spinning around she felt the little air remaining leave her lungs. A tall figure stood over her, looming and strong. Her eyes shadowed for a moment as she struggled to breathe again.

Finally she could make out distinct features. A strong jaw, perfect skin and golden blonde hair. The boy from district one. The one who won three years ago… back when Imagine died.

"Thank you" He must be hear as a mentor now. That meant he would do anything to see she dies. She was a threat to his tribute. And that meant he was a threat to her. He grinned, his eyes wondering down across to her waist; "A little tight though? Wouldn't you think?"

Frowning she leant back against the horse, finally getting some rhythm into her breathe. "It's fine"

"You'll faint. My sister almost did two years ago"

A hand brushed her shoulder and she turned to look up at Celestia: "Gloss darling, as a mentor you cannot talk to other tributes" there was something dark and uncomfortable about her voice. Maybe she didn't like him. Or maybe she didn't like him insulting her work.

Gloss simply smirked and turned to leave, calling over his shoulder; "Then make sure your tributes can breathe…"

Celestia frowned, behind her back gesturing for Enobaria and Troy. "Ignore him sweetie, he's just trying to put you down. He's the opposition"

And yet what Gloss said was true.

From the side Enobaria ran over, pulling Troy with her. "Ok, the Capitol like skinny and hot, sexy and funny. You need to keep the attention on you two. And stay close, I don't care how close you are in reality but as long as the camera is rolling you need to pretend you have some sort of relationship."

For a moment Meera dared to glance at him but he wasn't looking at her. Then they were pushed on to the carriages and the horses trotted down into a line behind the tributes from district one; a pretty brunette girl with long flowing hair tied into a high bun and a much shorter boy with strong arms and eyes as black as the night.

The second the horses started out the crowds roared and the lights shining over head were blinding. Everywhere she turned people were shouting out and waving and reaching over the railing to try touch them. Remembering Enobaria's words she raised her hands to wave and smile, beside her she felt Troy do the same.

Finally the horses came to a stop and President Snow, dressed in a grey suit with a single white rose clipped to his pocket, stood to speak.

But she could hear his words slurring and her eyes seemed to show everything doubled. She gripped onto the side of the carriage, her breath hurried and rushed. Troy whispered something to her and pulled her upright, allowing the breath to return and her sight to clear. "Thankyou" she whispered and tried to turn to face him, but all she saw was a blinding purple light blaring at her.

The horse suddenly moved and she realized they were moving out of sight.

When they came to a slow stop Meera felt as hands helped her down and she started towards an elevator. Climbing in she realized Troy had left her and she was without her mentors. What level was she? Where did she need to go? Feeling a small rush of panic her breath started to quicken and she rushed to loosen the straps of her waist. In desperation she called out for Troy and Celestia, even Enobaria, but none answered. Suddenly she felt herself falling. This couldn't happen. In all surrounding her how had something so unlikely occurred?

A sudden grip stopped her from hitting the floor and suddenly the dress realised its grip on her. She choked out in desperate gasps and felt vomit in the back of her throat. Not now. Not here.

Then the grip loosened slightly from her arms and pushed her to her knees.

"Breath slowly"

After a white she felt her pounding heart ease and suddenly the blackness around her made sense. Kneeling before her, his arms pressing down on her shoulders was Gloss. The winner of the sixty third hunger games. The boy Cato predicted.

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**Do you like it so far? tell me what should happen next!**


	3. Blood

She sat still, not moving, not daring to in case the blackness and nausea returned. Gloss stood, his back to her as he waited for the elevator to stop. No one spoke and as she sat, many thoughts penetrating her mind, the sudden blow of what the game really were finally sunk in. She would die. And it wouldn't be painless and easy. Even just the dress alone had almost managed to get the best of her- how would she survive amongst twenty three other tributes.

The elevator stopped and the door opened. She expected Gloss to leave, to walk out but he stayed put, standing tall and straight. "This is your level. District two always stays here"

"Thank you again" Meera whispered, slipping past him into a long corridor with a single room at the end. The elevator closed and Gloss disappeared from her sight.

Tip toeing down the corridor she pushed against the door. It opened and Celestia appeared, nervously tapping her nails against the belt of her dress. "Meera, sweetie! Welcome back, you looked amazing, and the dress was gorgeous" She ushered her inside, not bothering to notice how pale Meera appeared and that the cords that tightened the waist hung loose on the floor.

Celestia sat her down on the couch and feeling a lot better she dared look at everyone around the room. Enobaria sat by the window pouring herself a large glass of some sort of liquor, by her side Drayo- their male mentor- stabbed the window seal with a small pocket knife in a somewhat bored manner. Celestia was offering tea to everyone and Troy sat opposite her, his eyes locked onto the screen as they replayed their entrance. He paused it when the camera flicked across the face of girl with auburn hair and a freckles to shower her face before turning to face her, his face so stern and serious the fear of being killed by him seemed suddenly so daunting. "She's from four. I met her briefly after the entrance and against all sweet words, she's vicious. Kill her first"

"Why are you giving me advice?"

He frowned; "Why don't you just be grateful that I am?"

Meera frowned. Something about him put her off. The serious look that had never left his face since he'd first found he was to be trained as a career. Only when he acted to impress the camera had she seen him smile, and even then it felt so forced and fake.

"If she's a threat you don't kill her, you make her an ally. Let her kill of some for you and then slit her throat" Drayo awned and sat down, a little too close for comfort. He smelt strongly of the liquor Enobaria had been drinking and remembering how violent he had appeared in his game gave him an eerie image.

"What if she slits our throat first? Better of kill her and never give her the chance"

"Now that my boy is how you get killed. Allies are what gives the careers such an advantage. Before the games even begin one, two and four form an alliance, it's almost like a tradition. You don't just kill your allies in case they are plotting to dispose of you; instead you accept that they are and prepare to kill them need it be."

Allies. How false. An ally wouldn't plot to kill you. Meera stood to return to the darkness of her room. She didn't want to talk about the games. Think of how to kill or what to do about Troy.

Her room was dark and cool and painted a deep purple with silver spirals that glowed softly, providing the only dim light. Sitting down on the mattress as it sunk under her weight she stared at the large screen that took up a majority of the left wall. It was replaying the opening ceremony and then skipping to show moments and kills of the past hunger games.

Caesar Flickerman appeared, dressed in a pale grey and spots of yellow. His voice had been muted but he continuously gestured to his side were a smaller screen showed a scene in which a past career from four had managed to kill all but one of his own career pack in the night only to be torn to pieces by last one left. Then the scene changed to another boy form the same games, he had his victim pinned underneath him and was viciously carving a spiral pattern into his cheek. He suddenly turned around a grinned, his face splattered in blood. Gloss.

She felt sick.

She understood the hardness in Celestia's voice when she had warned him to stay away.

She understood what Drayo meant when he warned that to kill another career was a death wish.

She searched for an off button, to hide away the blood. The screen turned dark and the room seemed suddenly more red then purple. As if painted in the blood of all those killed.

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**Hope you liked this chapter! tell me what you think and what should happen next**


	4. The Start of Insanity

The training center was almost like a massacre waiting to happen; each section training to kill, to survive and to avoid death from any form of mutated creature. Meera liked to hide away amongst the swords and cleavers or to climb high up amongst roof and watch all below. From high she could study them, their techniques and the way they fought. She could see their weakness's- like the boy from one had a barely noticeable limp, preventing him from turning fast to the left. Or the girl form four, whose temper she troubled to control- severely injuring the boy from nine when he commented on her bad axe throwing skills, proving him wrong when it hit him in the calf and they had to carry him off screaming and crying. She learnt how she could use her abilities to avoid an axe or arrow by using a cleaver as a shield, and as this was a weapon she was well trained with she made sure to practice with other weapons as well, giving her wider variety. She also watched Troy from high up amongst the roof. In training back at two they had fought separately, so they could not know each other's weakness. But now she could analyse him, analyse his ways. She still doubted she could kill him came it down to the two of them- but surely she hoped he would not be the cause of her death. That was one thing she desperately wanted to avoid, it seemed too cruel. Maybe someone else would kill him. She let herself slid down the rope and walked over to the girl from one who was busy tying a rope into numerous knots. The girl barely turned to look at her, her eyes focused only on the work before her. She tried to think back what she knew of this girl. She kept to herself, didn't fight much and although she'd clearly agreed to alliance of careers, didn't seem interested in the weapons. Like a trick. To make others think she was weak. It was pointless. She was from on; of course she could fight and kill. "How do you do that?" Meera frowned; "Do what?" "You climb across each net as if you had no fear of falling" "I'm not afraid of falling, the higher I am, the further away from the games" She smirked and flicked her wrist, each knot untwining. "You're like a bird" She pulled something from the pocket of her pants. "It's the item I received from my district- for good luck" A small bird, carved from wood with tiny bead eyes. It seemed to sing, its wings stretched free to fly. "It's very pretty" The girl from one smiled and turned back to her ropes; "What did you get? From your district?" An image of Cato fought its way into her mind, smiling and young. Before he became obsessed with the games. "A small painting of my brother" "Cute" The girl grinned and dropped the rope, finally turning around to face her, dark hair shadowing her face. "I look forward to working with you in the games" She will be my ally. Her smile hides what she thinks. She's still a killer. An untrustworthy ally. "We'll see" Enobaria tapped her fingers against the wooden table. "Tomorrow night is important. You are going to be brought in and interviewed. You will impress the capitol. No questions, you simply will. Troy use looks and strategy. Show you're what every girl dreams of. Meera act like they're all your best friends, tell them some secrets- talk about the guys you like. They swoon over that kind of stuff" The door opened and Celestia walking in, high dandelion heels and a pastel pink dress with a bright yellow coat and a great hat to pile her hair over. "Ok we're starting the prep team. Enough Enobaria, they've trained for this. We need to get you two pretty" Troy grunted and stood, disappearing down the corridor. He seemed kind of dull and pale. Maybe the stress of the games was reaching him? But wasn't he trained for this? Then again so was she and yet she struggled with its concept. The whole way down to the makeup room Celestia chatted about the different ideas they had thought of for her dress. She explained how Diar, Troy's makeup artist, had finally thought of making something glowing and shinning like a star in the dark. Celestia then brought her in to the prep team who then continued onto cleaning her while they covered her skin in a soft powder. She wasn't yet sure what it was meant for as it left her looking no different. They then returned her to Celestia who stripped her into a silky golden gown with silver to almost caress her waist and define the curve of her body. Then she braided small silver and gold flowers into her hair before tying it into a messy bun with a small side fringe to frae her face and sliver makeup. She stared blankly into the mirror. That wasn't her. It was like a puppet, carefully carved from wood to appear like the perfect person and controlled so easily by the capitol. "You look like a princess" She didn't feel like a princess. No one look naturally so perfect. She was false and fake. "Here are the shoes" Celestia hadn't noticed her misery as she forced each foot into chunky heals, tying up a golden ribbon up around her legs, all the way past her knees. "Come on sweetie, let's get you in line" She nodded and followed Celestia down to the car that waited for them outside. There were people crowding around, reaching to try see her from behind the tinted window. It seemed strange these people enjoyed her misery. She wondered would they cheer if in her place Cato had come, small and crazed. Like them believing what he did was for honour. Would they cheer if such a young child were to be killed by another? Would they cheer if she died? The car stopped and she shuddered at the enormous building before her. "Come now sweetie" Celestia pushed her in and into the line of tributes. All so perfect and fake. More puppets of the Capitol. "Ok I'm going to go join the crowd. Remember, you're a princess. A princess and a star. You'll shine bright" And then she strutted out. Meera pressed herself to find Troy. He stood, serious like always and his lips moved silently; as if rehearsing lines to speak. He was dressed very similar with a golden suit and silver boots and his hair long and curling around his face, a single small golden and silver rose pinned to keep his hair from falling into his eyes. Turning to face her he gave a simple nod of approval and returned to his lines. Before her the girl from one turned around and grinned; "Nice." She tugged at her own twilight dress, small strands of glitter falling to wrap around her high white boots. Then after considering she reached out; "My names Naoko. This is exciting isn't it? I can't wait to meet Caesar, he's drop dead hilarious." Nervous Meera accepted, her hand felt awfully smooth- like glass. Caesar, she agreed, made the games feel lighter- almost like a joke. But the idea of having to face him and act so carefree made her stomach turn. Suddenly the lights came on, the door opened and Naoko was swept in. The crowd roared and for a while she watched as first she, and then her male district partner, were interviewed. They made it appear so easy. And then it was her turn. She stepped out onto the stage and felt as the overwhelming applause rang through her ears. Caesar gave a her a gentle hug and gestured for her to sit. She took a moment to stare at them all. Endless faces of pink blue and green, of orange and yellow. So many colours for such stupid people. Murders. They were all murders. Cheering for her to die. It should be them. They should be out there, killing each other. It suited them so much better. She wanted to just reach out and strangle them, each of them slowly to see the pain on their faces. You will impress the capitol. No questions, you simply will. Stupid Enobaria. She didn't want to impress these people. Caesar reached out to pat her shoulder and congratulate her. She felt her hands move, felt herself reach- to grab his neck and twist.


	5. iNsAnItY

She pulled back and gasped. This wasn't her. This was the murderer they had so desperately tried to create. How was it that now, after years of denial, she had started to feel it? The longing to see blood spill? Bloodlust? She tried to push it back, focus on the question Caesar was asking. She couldn't break now. Thank god he had not noticed her hands reaching to kill. "So tell me, Meera, tell me about district two?" District two… what could she say? That they had trained her to kill and now instead she wanted to kill the capitol? Meera act like they're all your best friends, tell them some secrets- talk about the guys you like. "Well it's not as colourful" Hey were laughing. It wasn't even meant to be funny. Caesar grinned and laughed with the audience; "The people or the city?" "The people…" …talk about the guys you like… "… And the guys here are cuter" The crowd roared and she could hear wolf whistles. Caesar chuckled; "Does that include me?" There it was again. That longing sensation to kill him. How could he ask that? Just before sending her into what was to be her possible grave. "You tell me?" She winked seductively, again forcing it down. And they loved it. She was fooling them, they enjoyed every second of her, they had no clue of her desire. "One last question" Caesar shuffled back into his seat, pretending to appear as if he were a love sick puppy. Sick. "Do you think you will win the games?" "I don't know. Maybe if all you amazing people out there sponsor me I might" The bell rang and forced herself out and back to where Celestia waited. She embraced her and chatted about how amazing she was, better then she'd expected. But Meera couldn't stay, she couldn't stay to watch the others- not even Troy. She felt sick and horrified by herself. Instead she ran back into her room and sat curled in a ball, sobbing and finally for the first time in years crying. She had for a moment wanted to kill. That was against all she thought she was. What had they turned her into? What had they turned everyone into? She thought of how once Cao and worshipped her, his older sister. He would play hide and seek with her and help her cook or sing songs while trying to tame the dragons he'd seen swimming in the river. They had changed him too, with the violence the promoted on TV. Now he wanted her to teach him to fight; now he wanted to win the games and kill those dragons that once smiled upon his imagination. Was she the same? Once she could sit quietly and just enjoy the sound of the wind and loose herself in a world of her own. Now she confused herself in words and thoughts and dreamt of blood and dying children. She didn't want to be their creation. She wanted to be herself again. "Hey you ok?" She looked up. Troy stood leaning against the door, his arms crossed and the silver on his suit glowing softly in the dark. Liked a star. She shouldn't tell him. She couldn't tell him. And yet she had to. She had to break the chains that had held her silent for so long. Maybe her silence and brought upon the monster that longed to kill. "I almost did it." He took a step forward, his long hair falling across his eyes. "Did what?" there was something serious and maybe even afraid in his tone. Afraid. Of her? "Killed him. I could have don't it. if I just held tight and twisted. I wanted to." She felt her fears of changing and the games rise and when she failed to push it down she started to talk fast, explaining of how she had tried to kill Caesar Flickerman and of how she didn't want them to turn her into a monster, how she missed her brother and how she longed for him to go back to being small and innocent. She babbled on about every fear she felt and about the dress she feared would choke her of life, of how Gloss and helped her even though once he had violently killed a boy. And then when her voice was hoarse and her eyes hurt from the makeup her tears had washed in she stopped, fell into the mattress and shivered. For a moment Troy said nothing and she wondered whether he was scared of her. Whether he thought she was beyond help. "I think that we're all a little insane. We can help it- it's what we get for living this life." The bed sunk under Troy weight and she felt his hand touch her head, taking out each flower and untying the bun, letting her golden hair spill across the sheets. "In a week this will all be over. For us both- whether that means living or dying I don't know. But it will be over" She sobbed in reply, grateful of his presence. So she lay there, not moving and just listening to her heart which seemed to thunder through her chest. After a while, maybe hours, Troy spoke again. "Do you want me to stay?" Meera managed a nod, her body weak and her head dried for thoughts. She must have fallen asleep because when she woke it was day and Troy had left again. Changing into soft pants and a long shirt she laid her dress out across the bed, the last of her fake appearance stripped from her. The only one in the apartment was Enobaria, pouring herself another drink. "Oh you're awake." Oh you're drinking again "Where is everyone?" Enobaria stood up and stretched her arms above her head. "Training. You should go too- it's the last day and then well, let the games begin" The training center seemed so awkward and full of hate. Everyone felt the same realization. Soon twenty three would die. Meera sat by the swords and cleavers- not bothering to fight or train. She feared that monster locked inside her. The one that screamed blood. The hours passed quick and soon they were once again locked away, waiting to be taken to the arena. Before Celestia could take her though Troy came, touching her lightly on the head- like he and done the night before. "Let the games begin…" "…And may the odds be ever in your favour" she finished grimly and stared at the sky. It was blue today. So blue and happy.


	6. The Games

She was dressed in a camouflage suit with boots and long pants and jacket.

She wanted to ask where they were going.

What arena she'd be fighting in.

But instead they pushed her into a glass cylinder and left her with Celestia to bid her farewell. She could hear her heartbeat, her breath hurried and loud and Celestia trying to talk through the glass. There was another voice, coming from the control room in the capitol, loud and slowly counting down.

The games were beginning. Suddenly the cylinder rose and she had to stop herself collapsing from the nerves. The glass slid down and for a moment she was blinded by blaring sunlight. Then her sight cleared and the arena surrounded her.

She stood on a small metal platform surrounded by rock and bricks. About thirty metres away from her stood the cornucopia, golden and reflecting light into her face. The sun was like a sphere of molten gold and the sky was almost white from heat. On either side of her stood tributes, ringed around the cornucopia. Behind them lay the ruins of an old city, crumbling and covered in vines and plants that wrapped around the last standing structures. It seemed to stretch out forever, some towers standing tall in the sky and seeming to disappear from sight.

She took a breath and focused on the countdown that droned on.

10… She could run and get what she wanted. Then flee and hide amongst the rubble.

9… She could hunt for birds and find water and shelter amongst these ruins

8… But she was expected to stay.

7… Hold out through the blood bath and start and alliance with the other careers.

6… She would have to go with them, searching those left and killing each one by one.

5… She would have to prepare to kill anyone who got in her way.

4… Even those in the alliance.

3… Even troy.

2… And now, now with that threatening monster and the longing for blood maybe she could.

1… _Nah, she cares too much for her district partner. He'll probably be the one to kill her_

She ran, letting her legs take her across the soil that burned in through her boots. Next to her the boy from five had almost caught up. She reached for the closest weapon. A long spear. She had used a spear before. Turning around to face him she let the spear go, it struck him in the leg and he fell face foreword into the earth, his head hitting against a brick. He was alive. But no longer a threat. She had no time to stop, to wonder what to do, instead she was searching for something more practical.

A Cleaver. Silver and large with something menacing about it. Picking it swiftly she turned for a moment. By now ten other tributes had reached the cornucopia and the blood bath had begun. Mentally she took note of who had died, battling her way through the mass of tributes crowding around her. Six dead.

The girl from twelve came at her, a long sword held tight in one hand. In an act of defence Meera lifted the cleaver and swung it out, cutting into her chest. Seven dead. Two she'd killed; three if the boy from five counted. Blood. Gasping she pulled back and headed out, further away from the mess of bodies. She reached the border of where each metal cylinder had stood and paused to turn back and stared in shock at the cleaver in her hands. Suddenly everything fell still and the world seemed frozen in red and the warmth of the sun.

The cornucopia lay littered in death and those had survived had fled into the rubble. All but the careers. The two from one had survived, the boy scavenging through the weapons and the girl, Noako, stood staring blankly at a dead boy by her feet. Troy sat on one of the cylinders to her left, searching in bored manner through one of the backpacks, his dirty blonde hair almost golden in the light. The girl from four was also alive; she sat hunched in the cornucopia, her hand rested on the dead body before her. No doubt her district partner who had managed to get himself corned by one of the tributes from nine. The bloodbath was over, for a moment there would be no fighting. Suddenly the girl from one straightened up and turned around, her hand touching a small cut by her lip.

"Let's get going. We still have way too many tributes out there and in this heat and all the hiding possibilities, it's going to take a while to cute them down" Her district partner nodded and came to join Troy and Naoko by the start of the ruins. Cautiously Meera followed, the amount of weapons packed across his back and belt made him appear way too much of a threat. For a moment they waited for the girl from four, who came quietly; swinging an axe around in one hand and then they trudged on into the mess of bricks and houses and towers. She'd killed. Her hands were dirty with blood, blood she could never wash off. Meera felt herself recoil on horror.

She was a murderer.

The monster inside had tasted blood. And yet it was not satisfied.

The further in they walked the closer the ruins become until they were walking in narrow line between two crumbling walls where once a road had run. "What the hell is this place supposed to be?" The girl from four hissed and hit her axe against the wall, a few fragments of earth falling and the thick vines wrapping up falling to the ground.

Troy frowned and pushed her back. "You idiot, do you want this whole place to collapse on us?" From the front Naoko called back; "I thinks it's the ruins of an old city back before the capitol. It was once the main city and they called it New York. It's been abandoned for years so I guess it would make an interesting arena."

New York.

She'd heard of it, of its once former glory and of the people who had inhabited it. If the capitol were using it as an arena they must have added something to it, some nasty trick to give a new flavour to the games.

They struggled on and after a while, when two more tributes had been found and killed the vines started growing bigger and trees twisted in between bricks, their roots entwining through holes in the wall. It had started to get dark and the temperature was dropping drastically. Somewhere far away something cried out. It sounded horrible and ghastly. Maybe a human or maybe some sort of creature. "Let's stop here for the night. We could take shelter in trees." They all turned to face her, and something about the look on the girls face from four made her suddenly uncertain. "Why?" she snapped and again started, as if by habit, strickling at the closest vine with the end of her axe. Meera paused. Maybe they hadn't noticed the scream? Whether it were human or not, nothing should scream like that.

Her moment's hesitation was taken as incapability to answer and without even looking back at her the girl from four kept going. Soon the two from one followed and when even Troy pushed her off as afraid she followed stupidly. They found one more tribute and by the time the anthem came on fourteen had been killed. Ten left. They stopped and after Troy shot down a few small birds that had taking rest in a tree they ate and drank from a small stream the bubbled out over the bricks and ran down in between the ruins, silent and unseen. Then they continued. By now it was cold enough so that Meera could feel herself shivering in the darkness. The moon appeared round and glowing, almost too bright, providing a perfect light to guide them onwards. This was all so manipulated. Frowning she felt her feet sink into mud and started at the ground below.

Suddenly Naoko gave small shriek and as they ran to her the ruins disappeared and fell into brown mud which slowly slipped away into black endless water. Water. Troy walked over, leaning down and scooping it into his hands. "It's salty." The girl from four nodded; "This is the ocean" The ocean.

Useless water, water they could not drink from. Suddenly another cry sounded out, louder and much closer. No it was defiantly not human. They all turned this time and in a moment of shock Naoko slip into the mud, her hands and knees covered in the strange substance. "What the hell was that?" "It sounded before. Back in the ruins."

They all turned to face her and the Naoko frowned, standing and pulling out the sword she'd kept in her belt.

"Why the hell didn't you tell us?"

"I didn't get the chance!"Meera gasped and turned to point at the girl from four- whose name was Rose. The cry sounded again and this time it was followed by a human scream. A canon sounded. Troy clenched his teeth and gestured to the trees that rose about twenty metres back into the ruins; "Run, run!" They all started up the mud and into the ruins, jumping across the bricks and starting for where the trees towered high up by the buildings. Troy reached first and started searching for somewhere to reach onto.

But the tree was smooth with branches breaking off to high to reach. Swearing under his breath he started using the vines that stretched across the wall to climb up. He reached a small ledge by one of the crumbling buildings and turned to held Rose who had come up next to him. Next was Noako who struggled to grip onto the vines and managed to slip twice. Now the cries were way to close and sounded more like a child screaming in pain. In sudden fear Meera turned to the boy from one who had turned around and now held an axe in each hand, his fists clenched tight around the handle so that his muscles rippled in anticipation.

"Come on! Don't fight them, climb!" Meera cried, but the boy didn't turn and when from the rubble of bricks a sort of cat appeared with long fur and golden eyes he instead hit it through the head with his axe, letting the creature fall dead to his feet. But it wasn't alone and more were jumping and pouncing by the second. He struck them down, but soon it would be overpowering. Not even if all five of them fought would they manage to kill these creatures. There was no hope in helping him so instead, her hands shaking and eyes struggling to focus, she started to climb, her legs trembling and struggling to hold on. Form above she could hear the others shouting but her fear and the screams of the animals took over any sense she and soon she could barely see. She just kept climbing, trusting her hands to move and her body to save her from what waited below. Suddenly she felt strong arms grip her waist and pull her over onto the ledge. She sat shaking, forcing herself to turn around and stare at the scene below

. It was almost too dark to see, she could only just make out the forms of each creature and the boy in the middle, viciously hacking at them. Naoko cried out and flung herself over to reach out for him. "Climb! Climb Silver!" At that something fell from her pocket. The small bird. The gift from her district. It hit against the floor by his feet and the boy, Silver, paused. The next moments seemed to take forever and with every heart beat the world seemed to shudder. Silver picked up the small bird and looked up for the first time, his eyes meeting theirs.

And what his face spoke of said it all.

He gave up.

He would die.

And he knew it.

And then the creatures pounced.


	7. Only Six

It took only seconds for them to drag him off into the darkness and out of sight. But they could still hear him, hear him scream and cry, hear as the creatures tore at him and slowly killed him. It lasted maybe ten minutes before the cannon sounded. But it was long enough to scar someone for life, to carve a twisted memory into their minds. Naoko sat in silence, her hands pressed over her ears, rocking back and forewords and whispering words of comfort. The girl from four simply stood, etching something into the twisted vines with her axe. Troy stood by Meera, his hand gripping her shoulder tightly, whether for his or her comfort she knew not, but still she felt grateful for his presence. When the sun started to rise the screams had long stopped and it seemed the creatures had retreated with the night. Only after carefully searching the ground did they start climbing down. The whole way Naoko said nothing, her eyes narrowed and her lips pursed tight. The sun was already burning across the land and as Meera climbed of the vines and back onto solid ground she gasped, jumping back and hitting against the wall. The floor was covered in blood. Dried blood that spread out across their feet and pooled in small hollowed in the ground. Human blood. The creatures that Silver had killed lay slumped, their long fur and dead eyes seeming to burn in the hat. They were a lot smaller then she'd remembered with long claws and a tail that curled around their bodies. They were cats. Maybe once domestic and owned by the people who'd lived here- but now they'd been mutated into something horrible and evil. A creation of the Capitol. When Naoko saw them and the blood she screamed and started down the ruins, following the trail from where they'd dragged him off. Nervous Meera followed with Troy and Rose following behind. A head Naoko had stopped. By now the Capitol and taken whatever remained of the body, but the stains of blood and tears of clothes described the scene. Naoko cried out and knelt down, picking up something small in her hands. The bird. She turned around, her face streaked with tears and her teeth clenched in fury. "This is your fault! You should have told us about them! If you had he'd be alive!" she lunged at her, crashing Meera against the wall. Gasping she reached for cleaver, but it was crushed behind her. Troy pulled the shrieking girl off and, as if she weighed nothing, threw her across the floor. "Enough. It wasn't her fault. And either way, if you wish to win he had to die eventually" Naoko sobbed and lay still against the floor. "Not like that, not so much blood" Troy turned away, his face cold and uncaring. "Let's move on. Who knows what else lies in this forgotten city" And so they started again, this time Troy followed closely behind Naoko, making sure she wouldn't decide to turn against them. Now the tributes were hard to find and as the sun started to burn their skin they took shelter under what had once been a house, its roof still providing shadow. "I'm starving" Rose sighed and dropped her axe against the wall. "Any one notice how well our sponsors are ignoring us? We're surviving on bird meat which tastes like off chicken and getting sunburnt. A little food or some protective cream would be useful" "Maybe you don't have sponsors" Naoko hissed and pulled out a small knife she kept close by waist, starting to cut up a piece of dried meat they'd kept from their first meal the day before. She chucked a piece towards Rose who caught it angrily and stormed out the shelter, taking quite an offense to what she'd said. Meera leaned back, a few smaller vines cushioning her. These games were going so fast. It was only the second day and already over half were dead. It made her nervous; nervous that the capitol was up to something- surely they would want the games to go for longer, maybe they would draw it out into a long battle. Suddenly Troy stood up; "This is ridiculous. The careers normally last longer than this and we've already lost two." At that Naoko suddenly froze, obviously reminded of Silver's cruel death. Btu it was true. Two killed on the first night and day, that wasn't good odds, but it did make the final battle between the four of them a lot easier. And the less people there were to kill the better. It was getting dark again and no more tributes had of yet died. They all retreated higher up into the thicker vines, hiding between the leaves and waiting for a sign that cats were back. It must have been a few hours wait before the first howling screech came and they could hear the creatures run by their hiding spot. A few stopped, perhaps smelling what hide above, before continuing silent in the darkness. "What are we supposed to do? We can't do anything during the day because the sun's too hot and at night those mutts come out!" Naoko whispered. She'd seemed to calm down since Silver's death and had become a lot more focused on killing the other tributes and getting home. She didn't see the games as a joke anymore, not something to laugh about and enjoy the pleasure of blood. On the other hand Silver's death and made Meera feel small and, again, like another puppet of the capitol. If they wanted to, they could kill her. Suddenly a cannon sounded, breaking the group from their moments silence. The anthem started and the face from the girl of eleven showed upon the screen. Seventeen dead. Six left. Four careers and two other tributes. "Whose left?" Troy turned around and settled back into the vines wrapped around him; "the boy from eleven and the girl from eight. And of course us" "Soon this alliance will end" Naoko whispered and somehow Meera felt that she was the first on Naoko's list to kill.


	8. Dying

They set of before the sun rose and after the moon had disappeared with the cats. And to avoid the heat of the sun they found a small path winding through trees so that there was enough shade to protect them from any serious burns. Either way Meera could feel her skin burn and her face and hands were a bright pink. Naoko and Rose weren't going well either, especially Rose who was forced to cover her face in the cloth of her singlet. Troy on the other hand wasn't burning at all and although he struggled with the heat his skin remained tanned and untouched. They still hadn't come across another tribute and the more time came to pass the more agitated Naoko became, muttering about the cats and how she'd kill herself before letting them tear her apart. Sometimes she'd just stop and when they'd try to coax her out of it she'd get this strange look on her face and her whole body would shake. They stopped for lunch at a small stream and Troy made a cover of leaves for them to hide under before going out to search for food to hunt, his bow ready in one hand. After a while Rose got bored and said she'd practice with her axe a little before they ate. "You two should as well, the way things are going Claudius is going to hold a feast" A feast. That was likely. Things were going slow and the Capitol would be getting bored. But a feast with what? Protective cream against the sun? Something to kill the cats? By her side Naoko moaned and curled up under the leaves. "You ok?" Naoko stopped and turned to face her. "What day is it?" The question startled her and it took a moment to respond; "third" Nodding slowly she curled up again; "I didn't think it would be so hard. Why are they making this so hard? I trained for this… but it's so hard" For a while she kept on whispering to herself before sitting up and searching through her pack. She pulled out a water flask and stood up. "I'm going to get water." She disappeared in the trees and suddenly it was dead silent. In the moments when there was no one to stop her Meera felt the monster inside her whispering for blood. She tried to push it back, waiting for Naoko to return and end her moments of insanity. Insanity. The word struck her. She was going insane? It described her bloodlust and her constant confusion. Maybe soon she would reach a state similar to Naoko's in which thoughts were muddled and in no order. Insanity, insanity, insanity, insanity… The word seemed to be everywhere, ringing from the trees and whispered with the breeze. She needed someone to come back. She needed someone to hold her, to tell her it was fake; that she was normal. A loud clank of metal sounded before her and with relief Meera looked up. Naoko stood before her, the water bottle by her feet. "Naoko?" "There is no point in waiting for the alliance to end. Because there are only two left anyway…" Understanding what she meant Meera gasped and reached for the cleaver, pulling it out and holding it tight in one hand. Suddenly the monster inside her pushed free and she felt herself hitting against Naoko, her cleaver sliding to smash against Naoko sword. They fell onto the floor and Naoko rolled over, her hand digging into Meera's wrist, trying to release her grip on the cleaver. Desperate not to die yet, not to be killed like this, Meera kicked up, into the girl's stomach and quickly slipping from her grip. Naoko spat, her hand reaching to hold her stomach before, in a quick and unexpected motion, slicing her sword across Meera's arm. She fell back into the vines, warm blood spilling down her chest, neck and arm. She gasped in pain and dropped the cleaver, reaching to stop the blood flow. Her body felt numb and she could feel her heart pounding loud. No. Not like this. Naoko suddenly sat down against her chest, her knees pinning down each arm and adding pain to her open wound. "You little bitch. You let him die. Don't you dare think I'll let you go easy; I'll let you die slow, cut each artery and wait for the life to flow from you" The pulled the smaller knife from her waist pocket and touched her neck with the point. Gathering her last energy Meera reached for her cleaver, her fingers wrapping around the handle. "Oh no! No you don't" Naoko hissed and kneed harder against her arm, forcing her to wince in pain. An image of Cato suddenly forced itself into her mind. Her little brother. Waiting for her to return home. "Good luck, you're going to win" No Cato. I'm not.


	9. Breaking Alliance

And then she was gone.

For a moment Meera couldn't understand.

She lay there, her eyes struggling to see and her arm pounding. And then she heard Naoko scream.

Her first thought was the cats, they'd returned in the day as a surprise from the Capitol; or some other mutated creature. Forcing herself to turn onto her back and force herself to her knees, Meera struggled to see.

Finally she could make out Naoko's force, struggling to free herself from the person who loomed above her. Troy. She managed to pull herself to her feet and made her way closer. He stood so tall and which such a menacing look to his face, his bow in one hand and Naoko's axe in the other.

"Stupid girl. You should know never to break an alliance" And with that he dropped the axe, letting it hit her in the chest. Meera gasped and forced herself on, waiting for the cannon to fire. But it never did. Instead Troy leaned down, picking the small knife from Naoko's hand. She lay limp on the floor, breathing quickly and still struggling to move. But there was no hope for her.

"Were you going to carve her up? Laugh when she cried?" Troy pointed the knife into her neck, like Naoko had done moments ago to Meera. "It would seem fitting if I did the same? Right?" No. No that was too cruel. To cruel, even for Naoko who would have done the same. "Stop Troy! Just kill her" Troy turned to face her, his face neither smiling nor frowning. Just menacing and motionless. "She gets what she gives. She broke the alliance" The knife cut.

Meera felt her throat dry. No, this was wrong. Naoko shuddered and writhed. The knife cut again and blood pooled onto the floor.

"Troy! Stop it!" The cannon fired.

Thank god.

It was over.

But Troy was angry, angry and annoyed and so beyond words of reason. He continued to cut, to carve.

_You don't just kill your allies in case they are plotting to dispose of you; instead you accept that they are and prepare to kill them need it be._

An image of Gloss splattered in blood hunched over the body of his once ally appeared from the TV screen back in her room at the Capitol. But Troy wasn't like Gloss. He could not be so cruel.

She forced herself to push him away from Naoko and felt as her body rolled across the floor, taking his with her. "Stop! Just stop it!" She could feel the tears in her eyes but refused to let them go.

Would that be her? Is that what would happen once the monster inside her broke free? Would she be so cruel?

No.

She pushed it back, deep inside her where she hoped it would never break free again.

Troy pushed himself off and stood up, brushing the dirt of his pants. "She deserves it. She's less then trash." But Meera shook her head, crawling to her hands and knees and falling back, blood slick across her skin. "No. No she doesn't. That's just cruel. It's the capitol, this is all their fault"

Troy stopped, his anger suddenly slowed and his face relaxing a little. "Well fuck them" he turned around and headed up to where their shelter had been built, picking up his pack and tying Naoko's knife to his belt. He slung his bow across his back with the back of his sleeve rubbed the blood from his face. "The alliance is over now. Naoko broke it. So I'd run if I were you, Rose will be back soon and in your condition she'll kill you easy. Better hope one of us dies before the final; a fight between district partners is never nice" And then he disappeared between the greenery.

Just like that.

For a while Meera sat, taking in what he said. And then she stood and, taking the last two packs- including Rose's, started to find her way through the trees, leaving Naoko's dead body behind. After a while, when she had travelled far enough to gain distance and her sight started blurring from the loss of blood, she settled down under a half collapsed roof. Her hands shaking she poured a little water over her arm. It shot streaks of pain through her body and for a moment she felt herself fainting. Gasping she pulled back. She stripped from the jacket and slipped out of the singlet before wrapping it tight around her arm as a bandage. Then she changed back into the jacket and forced some water and the last of the dried meat into her.

After a while, when she a felt a little better and not as nausea's, she continued a little further and climbed up what had once been a tower of some sort- high enough to escape the cats. Then she set up a camp and started a small fire with some dried twigs from the trees that stood about even from where she sat. Here she could wait. Wait until the capitol decided to get her out.

It must have been late. The howls of the cats were loud and clear and the sky was overcast, predicting rain.

Meera woke from a restless sleep- her dreams haunted by a laughing Claudius, Naoko strung up by her neck and Cato, painting across the arena in her blood.

Gasping she sat, her whole body suddenly paralysed in pain. She cried out in shock and untied the singlet form her arm. It was slick with blood and the whole side of her jacket was soaked. She could feel herself shaking and sweat across her forehead. This was way too much blood. She should be dead by now. By the open wall of the room, where the canopy of the trees stood and the building fell away into fifty metres of fall before hitting the ground again, a small parachute landed.

Sponsors.

Struggling to crawl over she opened the small package underneath. Two objects, one was a syringe with some sort of red liquid. Probably to help her with her loss of blood. The other a small container with a blue cream inside and a small note attached Use all on arm. Should heal by morning. Opening it she smeared it across her cut, shaking from the pain and feeling dizzy. For a while she felt nothing, then suddenly it started to itch and she forced herself to resist. It took only minutes after that and she could almost watch as it healed before her eyes. She stared out towards where it had come and reached out.

"Thank you" She whispered.


	10. The Feast

Like the note said; by morning the cut was healed with all but a scar to show it had ever been.

Suddenly she felt a rush of excitement. She was alive. Gathering her belongings she climbed across onto the tree branches that reached out beside her, slipping down across and into a comfortable fork in the tree. From there she managed catch an unexpecting lizard which had curled up a little higher up in search of sunlight. She was by cooking it when from high above the voice of Claudius sounded.

"Good Morning tributes! With only five of you left we have decided to give you all a chance to… catch up again. Anyone notice the heat? Well starting today it's going to get a little more intense; to give you all a fare chance we have left 3 new packs by the Cornucopia. They will contain the last fresh water remaining in this arena, cream to protect you from the sun and an extra secret surprise"

Last fresh water? Climbing down the tower Meera ran towards the nearest stream. Dried an empty. They were making it a necessity to go to this feast. Well if she wanted a chance she'd have to hurry.

Not bothering to retrieve her pack, she could retrieve it later; she started to run down towards the cornucopia, her cleaver ready. The area surrounding it was surprisingly empty. Three packs stood on a white table, each waiting to be retrieved. After scanning the first ten metres back from the cornucopia, Meera decided to take her chances and darted out; grabbing the first pack she caught onto. Then she ran back, as fast as possible. Knocking straight into Troy.

She fell back and reached for her cleaver, scrambling up and preparing to swing a death blow. Troy pulled his own bow, the arrow aimed for her head. "You don't want to be doing that"

She didn't answer. Here she was at a disadvantage; if she ran for it he could still shoot her where as she needed to be close enough to swing. All of a sudden he let the string go. She forced herself to fall back, but the arrow hissed past her ear and struck something behind. She turned and saw the girl from eight, the arrow straight through her heart. She fell back and the cannon fired. That arrow had never been intended it for Meera.

She stood up quick, refusing to trust him with open arms. But Troy wasn't interested; he was running towards the table, picking up a pack and running back into the fallen city. Suddenly another cannon fired and from behind the cornucopia Rose appeared, the limb body of the boy from eleven slumped against her shoulder. She shook him of carelessly and picked up the last pack before looking to meet her eyes

. "Thanks for letting me know about the alliance break" She snapped and unzipped the first pocket, pulling out a water bottle.

"You know it's great coming to find an empty camp and a body being plucked from the ground, covered in blood and long dead" _Naoko_. She pulled out another bottle and then a container of cream and without even fearing a surprise attack, started to smear the white cream across her face and hands.

"Oh well, guess it had to happen right? That girl went crazy. God if she hadn't died soon, I might have cut her off myself." She pulled out a small round object.

The secret surprise.

For a moment she frowned and studied it, pressing at something. A red light blinked. Her face fell in horror and she went to throw it away.

But it was too late.

Only just managing to duck Meera felt as the heat of the explosion ripped past her. She fell hard against the floor, bricks grazing and cutting her skin. Once the explosion resided she stood and with quick movements pulled of the jacket, flames licking across the fabric. She gasped and turned around. All that remained of the girl from four was a burnt corpse, unrecognizable and black like coal. The smell of burnt flesh was wretched and desperate to escape it Meera started back to the safety of her tower.

When she reached the first few trees she opened her pack and pulled out the round object. A grenade. They had set up a grenade in each pack. Quickly she threw it away and kept on running. The bomb exploded just when she reached the tower and from such a distance she could still feel its heat rippling from the warm air. She sighed and started applying the protection cream across her face and arms. It was cool and seemed to coat her in some sort of thin sheet of plastic. She sat down and drank as much water as she could.

There were only two left.

Her and Troy.

What she thought would never happen.

_"Nah, she cares too much for her district partner. He'll probably be the one to kill her" _

* * *

**_yay! the games are almost finished, but there is still a lot to occur. like what happens after the games? what of cato?_**


End file.
